Aereo Asks Judge to Dismiss TV Networks’ Copyright Suit

By Don Jeffrey -
May 15, 2013

Aereo Inc., the Barry Diller-backed
online TV service, asked a federal judge to dismiss copyright
infringement claims by the broadcast TV networks, which failed
to persuade an appeals court to shut down its operation.

Aereo yesterday requested judgment without a trial from
U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in New York on the ground that
the federal appeals court ruled that the service didn’t violate
the networks’ right to public performance of its programming,
which requires a license.

The networks sued Aereo in March 2012, claiming that it
infringed copyrights by capturing their over-the-air signals and
by retransmitting the programming to subscribers on computers
and smartphones. Aereo’s transmissions are public performances
and require licenses, they said. Its service would devalue their
programming and cut viewership, jeopardizing revenue from
advertisers and pay-TV providers, according to the networks.

Last week Aereo sued CBS to prevent the network from
attempting to shut down the service in cities other than New
York. Since the appeals court ruling on April 1, Aereo announced
plans to expand its service to Boston and Atlanta.

The TV networks have petitioned the full U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit to review the decision last month
by two of three judges who heard arguments in the case.

The cases are American Broadcasting Cos. v. Aereo, 1:12-cv-01540, and WNET v. Aereo, 1:12-cv-01543, U.S. District Court,
Southern District of New York (Manhattan).